Nut lock



May 2.0 1924.1

1E.' A.- SEWA'RD ET AL NUT LOCK Filed Mafrch -1923 i attenua Patented May 2G, 1924.

UNITE STATES PATENT* oFFlfcE.;

EDWARD A. SEWARD .AND VIICTGR, SEVVARD, 0F COLUMBUS, G-EIltGliIvA.v` i.

NUT Lo'cx.' i

Application filed March 17, 1923. Serial 170.625,803.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that we, EDWARD A. SEWARD, a subject of the King of England, and VICTOR SEWARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Columbus, in the county of Muscogee and State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Nut Locks; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in nut locks in which movable parts are tightened after assemblage.

The object in view is the provision of simple andV inexpensive, and yet eiiicient, means for, preventing Vthe backing olf or loosening of a nut afterl it has been once tightened up or threaded home.

With this andv further objects in view as will in part hereinafter become apparent and in part be stated, the invention comprises certain novel constructions, conibinations and arrangements of parts as subsequently specied and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure l is a plan View of a nut mount-K ed on a bolt and provided with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a Vvertical section therethrough taken on the plane indicated by line 2-2 of Figure 1, the parts being seen on a greatly enlarged scale.

Figure 3 is a similar section on the same scale with the parts shown in the position just prior to the tightening of the wedge.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the upper locking slide detached.

Figure 5 is a similar view of the lower locking slide.

F igure' is a vertical section on the samel scale as Figure l taken on the plane in'- dicated by line 6;-6 of Figure l'.

Figure isa similar View of a slightly modified embodiment.

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 4 of the upper locking slide of the structure asseen in vFigure 7. ,a Figure' 9 is a fragmentary, plan vlew of that .corner Apcrtion of the `init body proa vided with the locking apparatus', the locking apparatus being omitted and the parts vbeing shown on an enlarged scale.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, l

into the bore `vof the nut. i This groove may be' located at any desired placeabout the nut but an angle of the nut affords more area of'material andthus enables the provision of the groovefwithout injuriously weakening the nut in itsl entirety. Since the.l

u -indicates a nut threaded onto the bolt 2.

groove 3 opens into the-bore of the-nut, a

`segment or threaded section ofthe nut is thereby bodily removed, and such section isy replaced by va gripping plate 4 of a length v lslightly less than the length ofthe groove 3, of a width to snugly fit between Vthe side walls of the groove and pro-vided at its in ner edge with lthread sections 5, 5 corresponding to and desi ed to be arranged continuous of the thread's'of the nut. The wedging or gripping plate 4, however, is not ofthe same depth as the ygroove 3, and its outer edge, while susceptible of being made Smooth, ispreferab-ly'provided With "a notch 6 adapted'to co-operate with'a projection on a wedge'S, which is arranged to extend withink the groove 3 betweenithe outer edge of wedging` plate 4 and 'the base of the` groove 3.- The wedging'p-late '4'is of a length less ythan the thickness of the nut l, and lias its end y portions terminating "in longitudinally-extending*lugs 9 adapted to interlock or lap the shoulders of therespective locking slides. 'A locking slide l0 is arranged at the upper end of wedging plate l 4 and a locking lslide 11l is arranged at the lower end thereof, each 'Y of said locking slides 'being provided with beveled edges so as to dovetail in the respective dovetail grooves l2'an'd 13 at the 'respective upper and ulower faces of the nut, the saidfdovetail grooves extending fromfthe bore of the nuty outward to the outer border of the nut. Slide lOis, provided at its 'inner edge with a ythread section 14,"and spaced outwardly fromfthey thread section the/slide ,l0 is provided with@ downwardlffitteding Voffset tion 14. The slide 11 is provided withpa` thread section 16 similar in construction, arrangement and function to Athread section' 14, and the slide 11 is also provided with .an upstanding shoulder 1"(v adapte'dltowcd operate with the lowerlug`9;

The locking-v slide -10 isi formed with"r an'r aperture -18"o`r"acc`ommodating and'perrniting movement of the 'wedge' 8, and th'esaid wedge is ofha thicknessf to lsnugly -itjfbe tween the'side walls of thegroove: VVe'dge 8 is also provided w'ith an'- outer; ed-ge,` bev eled or`t-apered downwardly, adapted to con? tact with the-base of 'the f-groove,"whichfbase is inclined "so as to :co-operateV in molvingvthev wedge inwardly 'as it' is? forced' downwardly.'

The inner'v edge of thefwedge 8-'is 'adaptedk-to Contact with the-inner edge of wedgin'gplater` 4 to Vforce said plate v"radiallyinward when.

the wedge 8 is dri-vendownward,there being in the embodiment shown"a= space-1injthel length of the wedging `plate'4and th'ewedge 8 'where these two parts are out of cont-act" for enabling the provision r of the projection 7 and the notch 6, but where suchl` projection and notch arelnot employedthe" edge`I contact of wedgeS-zwith wedgingeplate14` would be substantially continuous alten the manner of they contact'otheouter-iedgeof wedging plate 8 with'the baseoffgroove as seen in Figure 2f. The wedge 8vis provided with a shoulder-19designed to=vunderh`ang the lockingslide 10, and afspr-ingra'tchet 2) upstands from'- thet shoulderedportion of wedge 8 in p'ositionfor engaging fthe adlf jacent edge 'of plate 10 formedfby: theaper-A ture 18 through which the uppe'rportionfot the wedge 8 extends.' VThe tensionfof'thef spring ratchet V20 is such as to-normally .press the wedge 84 inward, fand the 'ratchet-V is spaced from the niainfbody of the wedge( 8 f suiiiciently to allow'the several notches 2li of the ratchet to click past the cplatelO when the wedge- 8 vis moved downwardly frorn-the position Vseen in Figure tovthe position seen- Figure 2,so that vthefratchet.; 20. springbacktofassurne the: final position witheone of its* notches 21.- underhanging the`4 In operation, it willfbeunderstoodthat.V

. assembledY the wedgingqplate 4^andrwedge-j 8 mayY not escape-because fo-t;z the/presence .fofthe slides 10-1andi11,-andy.the. co-opjei'r-ation1l therewith of the lugs 9, notch v6 and provided with a pair of upstanding `main the same.

jection 7, and the shoulder 19. The movable parts may be removed from the nut only before the nut has been applied to the bolt and only by sliding the locking slides 1*() and 11 inward until freed from their respeotive grooves 12 and 13. The parts being assembled in the nut as seen in Figure 3, thenut is applied to the bolt and threaded thereon in the usual manner of tightening a nut. After the nut has reached its seated position, it is only necessary to drive the wedge- 8 downward until it is tight, as indicated in Figure 2, to eiectively lock the `nut against possible backing ot'f or loosenupper end of the spring ratchet-20; prefer-v ablyin a notch 22 provided Jfor the reception l of such a'tool, and then to pressthe' upper endl of the ratchet inward sut-ticient for: springing the same out'of line with 'the en-v Agaged edgeo slide 10. The operator then pries upwardly on the engaged part andV thus lifts the wedge 8 while the spring ratchet 20 yis out of line with the normally engaged edge of slide 10. Ars soon as the wedge 8 has beenthus lifted and, therefore, restored to the position seen in Figure 3, the nut may-be unscrewed from, its bolt.

The wedge 8 is preferably provided with a head 23 which overhangs the spring ratchet 20 Jor'pur'poses of protection of theparts, andthe slide 10 isY preferably prospaced lips -24, 24, arranged -to shield the upper end and head of the wedge 8 when thewedge is in its vfinal positionas seen in Figure2.

Directions have beenreferred toas up and` down, inandout, with the understandinguY `that the parts are in the position indicated would vary4 with various locations of the: i

parts but `the relative movements wouldre- It will .also bevobserved, that each of the slidesv 10 and 11 is prefer`- ably tapered at its outer end to conformzto the angle of the nut and to complete the re- -spectivecorner thereof', but this., particular formation of theslide'inay be'varied as .may become desirable.

In Figures 7 and 8, there .is shown a slight modiiication fromv the structure I just described,l the changes 'consisting essentially in providing locking slides-:such as sli-delO` with its: inner edge Jformed lsinooth, as .indicated-at i161", and short enough` to missf the threads of the bolt 7altogether.- The particu-l lar locking slide 110':- also out the protecting lipsl'for'f'the upper end of the wedge,l sinceth'ose lipsi'are formed integral with the nut 1, the said' lips being indicated at 24', 24. The other parts shown in Figure 7 being identical with"those just described, require no further description.,

The locking nut thus described is, o1 course, adapted for general application and use,such as for railways, machinery, automobiles, and the like, and we find the invent-ion especially well adapted for use in conjunction with the retention of the terminal clamps of secondary batteries, such as are commonly employed for the lighting and ignition systems of automobiles.

As clearly seen in Figure 6, the recess or groove 3 is relatively narrow to snugly accommodate the wedging or gripping plate 4 and the wedge 8, and said groove 3 terminates in the grooves 12 and 13 which are arranged horizontally and extend from the bore of the nut to the outer margin thereof. That part of each groove 12,13, adjacent the bore is formed with asegmental enlargement 25 to accommodate the respective shoulder 15, 17.

1. In nut lock construction, the combina` tion of a nut body having a recess opening into its bore, a gripping or friction plate movably mounted in said recess and adapted to have its inner portion engage a bolt onto which the nut body is threaded, a wedge adapted to be forced between and engage the outer portion of the gripping plate and an opposed portion of the wall of the nut body for wedging the gripping plate into gripping relation with the bolt engaged by the nut body, and a detent for locking the wedge against withdrawal.

2. In nut lock construction, the combination of a nut body having a recess opening into its bore, a gripping plate within the recess, means for forcing the gripping plate into frictional engagement with a bolt engaged by the nut body, and locking slides engaging the opposite faces of the nut body and the end portions of the gripping plate for retaining the latter in position.

3. In nut lock construction, the combination of a nut body having a recess opening into its bore, a gripping plate arranged in the recess, locking slides engaging the opposite faces of the nut body and the terminals of said gripping plate for retaining the latter against displacement from the recess, and a wedge extending through one of the slides and engaging the gripping plate for forcing the same inward. I

4. In nut lock construction, the combination of a nut bodyl having a recess opening into its bore, a friction plate in said recess, a wedge between the friction plate and a part of the wall of the nut body for forcing taxistasnaar a mit,

gaged` by thenut body, 'a' lspring ratchet.. ex,-A

wedge inagivenposition. I5;, .f.; 5. In nut lock construction, thecombiv tion of a nut body having a recess opening` into its bore, a friction plate in said recess, a wedge between the friction plate and a part of the -wall of the nut body for forcing the friction plate inward toward a bolt en gaged by the nut body, a spring ratchet eX- tending from the wedge, and means detachably engaging the ratchet for retaining the wedge in a given position, the spring ratchet being formed vwith means for receiving an instrument for springing the ratchet out of retaining engagement for enabling withdrawal of the wedge.

6. In nut lockA construction, the combination of a nut body havin a recess opening into its bore, a friction p ate in said recess, a wedge between the friction plate and a part of the wall of the nut body for forcing the friction plate inward toward a bolt engaged by the nut body, a spring ratchet extending from the wedge, means detachably engaging the ratchet for retaining the wedge in a given position, and a head on the wedge o-verhanging the ratchet.

7 In nut lock construction, the combination of a nut body having a recess opening into its bore, a friction plate in said recess, a wedge between the friction plate and a part of the wall of the nut body for forcing the friction plate inward toward a bolt engaged by the nut body, a spring ratchet extending from the wedge, means detachably engaging the ratchet for retaining the wedge in a given position, and shields upstanding at the sides of the wedge for protecting the same. l

8. In nut lock construction, the combination of a nut body having a recess opening into its bore, a gripping plate movably mounted in the recess, a ywedge for driving the gripping plate into gripping position, a locking slide for retaining the gripping plate from dislocation, the wedge extending through the slide, and a spring ratchet eX-- tending from the wedge and engaging the slide for locking the wedge in its wedging position.

9. In nut lock construction, the combination of a nut body having a recess opening into its bore` a gripping plate movably mounted in the recess,y a wedge for driving the gripping plate into gripping position, a locking slide for retaining the gripping plate from dislocation, the Wedge extending through the slide, and upstanding shields from the slide at the opposite sides of the projecting portion of the wedge.

10. In nut lock construction, the combination of a nut body having a recess opening into its bore, a gripping plate `in the recess, t In testimony whereof We affix our signaa`wed`ge for -drivigth 'grippingfplate into tures in presence `-of two Witnesses.` gripping relation with a boltengaged'by the f A. SEWARD.

nut'bodygva'nd means preventing dislocationv "VICTOR SEWARD. 5 of the Wedge', the Wedge and grippingplate' lVVi-tnesses: .v

being formed withinteraoting recesses f and HEVA BETZ,

projections.V f e i;

R. K.' MUNN. 

